It has been almost ten years since the hype about Leipzig began. First the British Guardian, later even the New York Times called the city “Germany’s new cultural hot spot” and “better than the capital”.

The positive echo increased in the media and paid off. Leipzig was openly treated as an insider tip. Tourists, students and curious people of all kinds followed. In the meantime, the entire region has impressively proved that its attrac­tiveness has long-term substance and is gener­ating enthusiasm in many respects. It also shows enormous appeal to investors and entrepre­neurs. As a historic trade city, Leipzig has always been a place of business. This is manifested by one of the oldest German trade fairs, Leipziger Messe, which is hosting more than 1.2 million visitors per year from all around the world.

Leipzig and its surrounding area have become Saxony’s business centre and have long been successfully ranked as one of Germany’s top locations, attracting both interna­tional companies and innovative start-ups. In the last ten years, the city’s population has increased by more than 100,000 people. This trend seems unbroken; the metropolis is consid­ered the fastest growing in Germany. In 2040, according to forecasts, it will be the sixth largest city in Germany, with 700,000 inhabitants.

A diamond in the rough with great potential

Today’s successful course was not a foregone conclusion, but rather results from years of polishing a diamond in the rough. The region received an immense economic boost in 2002 when Porsche settled in the north of Leipzig, a clear and important signal that was followed by BMW, Amazon, Future Electronics and Beiersdorf. These are all strong examples of companies that saw the potential of the eco­nomic region and have been both confirmed and encouraged in their confidence.

Leipzig and its surrounding area are cos­mopolitan, hospitable and cooperative, and can score with numerous locational advan­tages. The short and safe transport routes within Europe are particularly decisive for set­tling here. The economic area benefits directly from the internationally operating 24/7 Leipzig/Halle cargo airport, where one of DHL’s three global hubs is located. Additionally, the region has excellent transport links via motorways, rail and waterways.

Those who have settled here want to stay. This is evidenced by the numerous local com­pany expansions, such as Porsche, which has grown in and with the region. In 2022, on its 20th anniversary, Porsche’s Leipzig plant could look back on five expansions. Over 4,300 new jobs have been created in the two decades, and more than 1.7 million sports cars have rolled off the assembly line here.

BMW is also expanding in Leipzig and extending its component production with an investment of 800 million Euros and the crea­tion of 300 new jobs. From 2023, the succes­sor to the Mini Countryman will be produced in the Saxon metropolis, and according to the plant management, it will soon be emission-free. This will make Leipzig the BMW Group’s first German location to produce both BMW and Mini brand vehicles.

Despite the enormous development in recent years, the city and the surrounding dis­trict of Leipzig still offer enough potential space for all sectors. The steady supply of skilled workers from the local universities, research institutions, training centres and vocational schools, as well as numerous eco­nomic development programmes, are attrac­tive incentives for companies and investors. Today, the region is home to a wide variety of industries: first and foremost, advanced manu­facturing & supply chain, IT and life sciences, but also e-commerce/logistics as well as energy and environment.

Intelligent production at the highest level

Central Germany attracts international high-tech investments like no other economic area, examples being Intel in Magdeburg and Tesla in Grünheide/Brandenburg. Large invest­ments of this kind are often followed by numerous companies along the entire supply chain. Now Europe’s leading manufacturer of ultracapacitors is coming to Saxony.

The Estonian company Skeleton Technologies will invest 220 million Euros in Markranstädt, in the district of Leipzig, to build the world’s largest production facility for super­capacitors. Skeleton is working hand in hand with technology partner Siemens to fully auto­mate the production line and digitalise the entire value chain. In the first expansion phase, approximately 240 jobs will be created, and pro­duction is scheduled to start in 2024. From then on, up to twelve million cells per year are to be produced in the highly efficient plant, which will also serve as a blueprint for other factories.

The region is also flourishing in the field of e-commerce. For example, Mytheresa, the lead­ing online platform for luxury fashion, chose the location. The new logistics centre in the immedi­ate vicinity of Leipzig’s cargo airport is nearing completion and represents a major step towards international growth for the company. The 105,700 square metre site in the north-west of the city is being currently developed. Mytheresa wants to create 1,000 jobs here by 2030.

Digital innovation driver

The fastest growing sector in and around Leipzig is the technology and digital industry. Around 15,000 people are employed in over 1,200 start-ups, scale-ups and large IT companies, such as adesso, Arvato Systems and Siemens. Topics driving IT research and development in the region include digital transformation, cyber security, big data and artificial intelligence. With interdisciplinary competence centres and research institutions, for example ScaDS.AI (Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence) or InfAI (Institute for Applied Computer Science), the IT industry in the eco­nomic region is well equipped for the future.

The ambitions of the Leipzig Region to firmly establish itself as a digital centre of excel­lence in Germany are also confirmed by the investment of Belgium-based AKKA Technologies Group. The globally operating consultancy, which specialises in engineering and R&D services for clients in the mobility sec­tor, has established a new Digital Centre of Excellence in Leipzig in 2021 and created 250 jobs. AKKA Technologies is thus responding to the strong increase in demand for expertise in the areas of cloud architecture, software devel­opment, AI, machine learning and data analysis.

The adesso Group, one of the leading IT consulting and system integration service pro­viders in German-speaking countries, is also growing rapidly. In 2020, the Leipzig branch started with 25 employees, and within a year it already had 100. Now adesso is expanding its representative office with additional office space, and another 100 jobs will be added. The company is represented with offices in 24 German cities as well as at other locations in Europe and has 7,500 employees worldwide. According to the company, the decision to expand in Leipzig is based on the good availa­bility of highly trained specialists, the estab­lished university network, which enables close links between business and science, as well as the excellent urban infrastructure.

An ecosystem for life sciences

South-east of the city centre, in BioCity Leipzig, beats the heart of the local life sciences cluster. Here, companies research and work together with six biotechnology-oriented professor­ships and non-university institutions. The sur­rounding 100,000 square metre BioCity Campus offers a unique environment and a wide range of development opportunities in the field of biotechnology and life sciences.

Leipzig’s attractiveness for this industry is testified both by this broad life sciences ecosys­tem with R&D expertise and supporting fund­ing programmes, and by the fact that the city continues to offer room for growth: both on the BioCity Campus and through new construction projects and laboratory space by private inves­tors. The BioSquare Leipzig, another biotech­nology campus, is now being built in the imme­diate vicinity. The initial ground-breaking cere­mony for the high-tech building took place in September 2022, where life sciences compa­nies will soon find space in a state-of-the-art working environment. With around 10,500 square metres of above-ground rental space, the first part of the building has already been let to c-LEcta as its new headquarters.

As a globally active biotechnology com­pany, c-LEcta specialises in the development, production and distribution of enzyme prod­ucts. With the help of innovative cutting-edge technologies, enzymes and microbial strains are provided for cost-efficient industrial manufac­turing processes. In addition to 100 jobs, sustain­able, future-oriented office and laboratory space, production areas with biotechnical facilities, as well as training and conference areas are being planned for the new Leipzig headquarters.

The fact that Leipzig is a dynamic centre of the life sciences industry has been impres­sively demonstrated by the city, most recently by hosting BIO-Europe in October 2022, Europe’s largest annual biotech partnering conference. With more than 5,000 guests from 66 countries, it was the largest BIO-Europe event to date.

Invest region leipzig - the door opener to the region

As the international economic development organisation for the city and neighbouring dis­trict of Leipzig, Invest Region Leipzig (IRL) sup­ports companies that consider expanding their business to the Leipzig Region. IRL pro­vides essential decision-making data and first-class services that are individual, confidential and free of charge to ensure a “soft-landing” for companies. Large corporations as well as small start-ups can rely on IRL’s strong net­work, which actively supports them in their search for a location, in funding opportunities and in attracting skilled workers within the economic region.

To discover more about regional business opportunities and our service to support your expansion to Leipzig, visit www.invest-region-leipzig.com